HOME

Field feeding: food service Soldiers learn to prepare meals in less-than-ideal environments

By T. Anthony BellMay 30, 2013

Boiling water
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Containerized Kitchen
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Checking temperature
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Pfc. Devita Bone uses a thermometer to measure the temperature of the enchiladas her team cooked up for the lunchtime meal. Bone and the other food service Soldiers prepare roughly eight meals for their peers during 40 hours of instruction at the Fie... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Cramped quarters
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Seven Soldiers pitch in to help prepare enchilada entrees during hands-on training May 23 at the Field Operations Training Branch of the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence, Quartermaster School. The Soldiers undergo 40 hours of instruction, learnin... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Line service
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT LEE, Va. (May 30, 2013) -- If you've attended the annual Military Culinary Arts Training Event here, you probably walked away with some understanding of what food service operations are like in a garrison.

The same operations in a field or deployment environment is markedly different. Future food service personnel learn how different it is during 40 hours of training at the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence's Field Operations Training Branch. There, they learn to prepare meals in cramped mobile trailers and consider factors such as weather, the number of mouths to feed and mission of the supported unit. In the end, said Sgt. Dorian Herring, an instructor, field feeding is a "morale booster that gives troops something to look forward to" after a hard day's work.

RELATED STORIES